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Tuesday, August 31, 2021
Serving Elkhart County and parts of Noble, LaGrange & Marshall Counties Know Your Neighbor. . . . . 2➤ Speak Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Good Neighbors . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Labor Day . . . . . . . . . . . .6 & 7
Goshen (574) 534-2591
Vol. 49 No. 21
134 S. Main, Goshen, Indiana 46526
Learning curve to some degree for all
at Goshen Intermediate School ,16758&7,21 ,1 352*5(66 ³ 6DEULQD +\GHQ DQ LQVWUXFWRU LQ WKH PHGLD FHQWHU DW *RVKHQ ,QWHUPHGLDWH 6FKRRO DGGUHVVHV D JURXS RI VWXGHQWV 3KRWR E\ 7LP $VKOH\ %\ 7,0 $6+/(< 6WDII :ULWHU Not only are students in the learning mode, but to some degree so are teachers and staff at the new Goshen Intermediate School. On Aug. 9, when the new school year commenced for Goshen Community Schools, it marked the first time in 15 years when Prairie View Elementary began a new school opened in the school system. Planning for Goshen Intermediate, where fifth and sixth graders attend, began in late 2017 or early 2018 as soon as the referendum passed, noted Dr. Alan Metcalfe, assistant superintendent. He and Dr. Steve Hope, superintendent, met weekly in three- to fourhour meetings for several months with architects and
planners, working on all the details for the new school. Those details included, among a very long list, how big the rooms would be, the color of the carpeting, how the building would be maintained and more. Ground was broken for the school in the summer of 2019 and it was finished and released to the school corporation by Weigand Construction only about a week later than planned in July. Opening the school solved a problem of overcrowding especially at Goshen Middle School and has provided more space at the middle school, as well as the elementary schools. Metcalfe noted, prior to the new school opening, finding enough room in the cafeteria especially was a problem at the middle school. Prior to the recession of 2008 there were plans to build the school, but once the recession set in the decision was made to cancel those plans. “Everything looks good on paper,” Metcalfe noted concerning the planning process.
This was proven true yet again with the traffic gridlock, especially the first week or two of the school year. A turn lane was installed on Greene Road for northbound traffic, but the number of students being picked up and dropped off daily was at about 500 as of the first week of school. “We had no inclination of this and we did not plan for that number,” he admitted, noting this was based on traffic studies done by engineers. “We guessed at about 150 or so.” Even before the end of the first week, especially in the morning there was some improvement and Metcalfe promised “things will get better.” Parents are being encouraged to let their children ride a bus instead and especially in the afternoon it would help if those picking up students would not come so early, such as 40 minutes or more prior to dismissal time. Staffing is a mixture of teachers transferring from elementary schools or the middle school in the district, new
teachers to Goshen and teachers in their first year of teaching. Depending on which grade they teach, “everybody is in the same boat because they are learning new curriculum,” said Moises Trejo, principal, adding “it is like never having taught before.” Teachers already familiar with how Goshen Community Schools operates know how to access computer systems and find resources, but all teachers are learning the various drills, what to do during a lockdown, etc. Another question to be addressed is what sports will look like “and how do you give opportunities for sports,” Metcalfe said. An intramural program is being planned and there is a spacious gym at Goshen Intermediate, seating about 2,000. Metcalfe noted the new school has filled several school corporation needs, such as a large group instruction room “which we never had before,” and seating about 500. It is essentially a multi-purpose room.
There are also large and small conference rooms throughout the building so “somebody doesn’t have to be kicked out of a room” if a room is needed. Technology is also a positive and each classroom has what is essentially a large iPad, or interactive board. “There are three screens in each classroom,” Trejo said, including the interactive board and two other TV screens. Students can project what is on their laptops to those screens, he added. Two STEM teachers occupy two of four project rooms, which will expose every student to a makerspace. A model classroom larger than a normal classroom was created so visitors can see what is being taught without having to disrupt classroom learning. Trejo said the building “is very secure” with the latest security cameras and door fobs with limited access. A school resource officer is also stationed at the school, which is a first for a Goshen school with fifth-grade students.